好きなフレバア　favorite flavor
by Tobi Tortue
Summary: Gundam SEED Short. Kira is going to spend time with the other pilots...and Athrun's mysterious Almond Crush. Poor Kira.


好きなフレバア　favorite flavor

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"Hey Kira, could you help me find my Almond Crush?" Athrun stopped in the middle of the mall and Kira paused, confused.

"Er, what?"

"Almond Crush." Athrun started walking in a direction very different from their original one. "Maybe this way...?"

It seemed that Athrun was very intent on finding said crush and Kira was, although curious, not very sure that he wanted to know who this crush was. He knew that Athrun had considered himself a single man after Cagalli had sent his ring away and nearly married another man. (Which was perfectly understandable.) And although Kira had never heard anything specific about Athrun's exploits aboard the Minerva, he had heard the faintest of rumors and wondered if Athrun's crush was someone he had met then. After several moments of following Athrun in silence, he decided that he had a duty to his only sister Cagalli to find out.

"Er...your Almond Crush?" Kira asked nervously. "Could you maybe explain?"

"It's my favorite," Athrun told Kira happily. Kira paled, but Athrun, in his excitement to find his Almond Crush, didn't notice.

"Is it," the poor Freedom pilot replied weakly. What was he going to tell Cagalli?

His thoughts, however, were interrupted as Dearka and Yzak appeared. Dearka was carrying a plastic bag that seemed to have two DVDs inside. Yzak tossed his silver hair disdainfully when he perceived Kira ("perceived" because he made a point of never directly acknowledging the former Strike pilot), and then narrowed his eyes at Athrun.

"What are you doing out here empty-handed, Zala?" He asked icily. His eyes were also asking why in hell he had decided to bring his stupid, much-too-perfect friend. "You were supposed to get them and be back here by now."

Athrun swallowed, though not as nervously as Kira might have, had Yzak given him a similar look. "Er, I was just going to get them..."

"Commander," Yzak prompted.

"Going to get them, Commander," Athrun continued, though now bewildered. He saluted a little sloppily, still unsure as to why, and then turned on his heel and dragged Kira with him.

"Don't forget that Yzak wants his covered in chocolate!" Dearka yelled after them, his voice full of mischief and the knowledge that he was utterly embarrassing Yzak.

Kira's face went from pale to deep crimson in a matter of seconds. He could hear Yzak violently berating Dearka behind him and for once, couldn't blame him. No one really needed to hear that information.

A few moments later, Kira rose sufficiently out of his embarrassment to realize that Athrun was talking to him. Or maybe just in his general direction.

"...tastes really good, so I don't know why he'd want plain old chocolate..."

Kira sank back into embarrassment, and decided to stay there for a while. He regained his normal consciousness to realize that Athrun had stopped in the snack aisle. He was still muttering to himself.

"...have to find something with strawberry or else Dearka won't be too pleased." He paused and looked up and around the aisle. "Where _are_ they?"

Kira looked around, not sure exactly who he was expecting, but sure that he was expecting someone of the feminine gender. A blonde passed the end of the aisle, glanced at Kira and Athrun, and for a blood-curdling moment, Kira thought she was the Almond Crush. However, she only gave the good-looking pair an appraising look, and passed on.

When she disappeared behind a stack of dog food cans, Kira turned to Athrun. He couldn't continue without knowing what was going on. Athrun had invited him to hang out at Dearka's, but since he had only known the roguish blond for a short time, it difficult to guess exactly what "hanging out" really meant. Kira had assumed it meant sitting on a couch, drinking soda pop, and watching action movies. But to Dearka and perhaps even Athrun, it may have meant something else entirely. What was the content of Dearka's DVDs anyway? He took a deep breath and addressed his friend, unaware that he was putting on his invisible mantle of sainthood.

"Athrun," he said calmly," what exactly are we doing here?"

Taken aback by the sudden mood change, Athrun simply blinked.

Kira waited. Athrun coughed.

Kira waited patiently.

"Er, looking for my Almond Crush?" Athrun said, though it sounded more like a guess. He blinked at Kira again, and then continued. "I'm not going to just go without, so just try to be patient." He smiled at Kira.

Kira's answering smile was tragic. "Why not? What about Cagalli?"

Athrun looked startled. "Cagalli? Is she coming? Holy crap, I didn't know she was _coming!"_

Kira's expression turned to pained. He shook his head. "No, but I think it's something you should think about," he said seriously.

"Why?"

But there was no opportunity to answer.

"What the fuck is taking so long?!" Yzak cried, storming into their aisle. "For crying out loud, Zala, can't you just get a job done?!"

Athrun cowered.

"Yeah, Athrun, all you have to do is just find them, get them, and bring them home. It's not that difficult, you know," Dearka kidded.

"Yeah, well I don't think they're _here_!" Athrun replied angrily. He looked ready to go into a corner and pout. "I can't find them anywhere! What, do you think I haven't been _looking_?"

Dearka laughed and Yzak smoldered.

Kira felt caught, trapped between the shallow perceptions of the average male and his powerful, underlying morals and sense of dignity.

"Zala!" Yzak barked suddenly.

"Sir!" Athrun jumped and saluted out of habit, more than any real respect.

Yzak's eyes glided past Athrun, who immediately dropped his hand and felt stupid. The cold blue eyes caught on something, and lingered.

"I guess important things can't be left to amateurs or people who desert when the job's half done. I've found them." Yzak breezed past the stunned Athrun, while Dearka laughed and Kira tried to grab at any last straws of meaning to love and life.

A group of girls chatted excitedly behind Athrun. One looked over at Yzak shyly as he approached them, and the rest burst into fitful giggles.

"No!" Kira cried, taking a step forward, but Yzak had already started to speak.

"Get out of my way, please," Yzak informed the girls curtly as Dearka approached. They stopped their giggling, glared haughtily, and walked away.

"What did they think they were doing, standing in front of the Pocky like that? Ooh, strawberry!"

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Almond Crush is my favorite Pocky. If you haven't had it, you need to try it. Yum. I wish I had some right now. Please review! 


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